Hi! This is a rec journal managed by me :D I love reading and I like to think I have good taste - that's the reason I have this journal, after all.

As a general note, I've done my best to not put an author's entire masterlist on my rec list (ha.) This of course means that with a rec comes an author, whose other things that I may not have listed you should definitely check out!!

Here is a disclaimer that (a) I do not claim to have read every fic by every author (see above); (b) this journal is not "objective" nor is it a directory of The Best fic of certain fandoms; and (c) I do not claim to have read "most of," much less all the fic for a certain fandom. I mean, I read a lot, I just don't want anyone to think that I think that my recs are indicative of a fandom, or whatever. I don't expect people to have the same tastes as me!! If my recs are not up to your taste you are free to look for whatever fics or rec lists on your own.

Queries, quotations, questions, and other things that do (and don't) start with the letter "q" can be sent to me via PM!

Never Asked Questions

How do you decide what to rec?Honestly, it depends on the fandom, how I (currently) evaluate the quality of the fic, and how I reacted to it when I first read it. Generally I'm constantly reworking my standard for what to rec, as different stories have elicited different reactions out of me and over time my ability to read has matured; so it just comes to me picking and choosing the ones I would probably mark as 'favorites' on any other rec list, as I don't particularly believe in isolating certain fics out on a rec list. I want other readers to read everything on it, not just ones I've marked with a star! However, my recs are of course not a list of fic that I've ever read, so if you ever need more and/or are looking for certain types of fics, I'd be happy to send some your way (or link you to a tumblr blog, they're usually much more organized.)

What's up with the "author" sections on some fandom rec lists? What's "favorite authors"?Like anyone else, I have favorite authors, particularly in certain fandoms, even if the author has written for others. On certain fandom rec lists - primarily ones that I have read copious amounts of fic for - I have a bit at the top of my favorite authors, wherein:(row 1) I link their primary places of posting fic (as long as it's attached/linked to the others in a certain way) (row 2) their best known fic in the fandom of question, and then other fandoms or fic in other fandoms that they may be known for; and then(row 3) my favorite fic of theirs. If it overlaps with their best known fic in the fandom of question, I'll add "(other)" in this area to indicate that their best known fic is also one of my favorites. Additionally, if I have multiple favorite fics of theirs I'll also link them here. Obviously it's not to say that if I don't link their other fic here that their other fic isn't "as good" - it's just that my "favorites" stand out to me more.I also try to avoid overlapping as much as possible, so all fic I list for an author in the 'favorite authors' sections of the particular fandom won't show up on the rest of the rec list. Actually, the author won't show up on the rest of the rec list - because I love too much of their stuff, too much.

Favorite authors, on the other hand, will overlap with some recs on this journal, because the list itself is unspecific. And I haven't ready everything by the authors on this list (despite as much as I'd like to), so the overlap is necessary to indicate which fandoms exactly I have read their stuff for. However, their author rec will not overlap with favorite fandom rec; e.g. if author X is one of my favorite overall authors and has written a lot of fic that I love for fandom Y, I still won't put them on the favorite individual fandom Y authors because I have already recced them here, and will only rec their fic like normal.

Why do you rec some complete series, but only rec one fic of a series for others?Sometimes I want to rec the series as a whole (in that I view/read it as one big thing); sometimes they're so good that I just want to rec them all! Of course if I only rec one fic (a sequel or a prequel) it doesn't mean that their successors are inferior or superior; I'm just assembling the fic that I'm partial to, in regards to my own preference. All fics for series that I haven't recced as a whole are just as wonderful and fun to read - and some I haven't even read yet, so who knows? Maybe I'll add their sequels/prequels later ;)As another note, even if I've recced a sequel (and not a prequel), it is only because I feel like the fic can be read on its own without the prequel, although by general definition readers should read both, anyway.

Why do you refer to an author by their [LJ handle] for one rec, but their [AO3 handle] for another?(Brackets can be replaceable by other specific related words.) I cite the author according to the place they've posted their fic, and I prioritize them by AO3 → independent website → FFn/LJ (the latter depending on which site I actually read the fic on first. I'm a very nostalgic person.) For example, if an author posts a story on AO3/FFn/LJ, I'll post with the AO3 link citing their AO3 handle. If their fic is only available on LJ, I'll cite their LJ handle next to the fic, even if I already have a fic of theirs from a different website on the rec list. It's so that people know what interface to expect when they click on a fic link.Regarding independent websites, 99% of the time it's for an LJ-hosted event, so I cite their LJ usernames along with it.

How do you read fics that are (visually) hard to read?I am pretty vision-sensitive - I don't like reading neutral/black text on light backgrounds; I prefer dark text on neutral backgrounds and light text on dark backgrounds, though sometimes I put up with Fanfiction.net for the sake of it. On AO3 I run the Threw Twill Out theme as it's very visual-friendly for me (though if the pattern is not your taste, Simply Twilling is a very nice alternative.)Lately, for vision reasons, I have been inverting colors on my reading interfaces.As for fics that were originally posted in LiveJournal blockquotes for margins, what I like to do is inspect element (right click on webpage > Inspect Element) and then alter the blockquote CSS to get rid of the grey text and italicized fonts. I hope this helps with anyone's readability!

What if a link is broken or doesn't send me to the right place?Just shoot me a PM and I'll fix it! Sorry if it happens, by the way.

Why do you rec so much [trope]?It's probably a preference or incidental in the fandom (or both!) I'm pretty weak to things that involve relationship play (like fake dating, accidental marriages) and kids (deaging in a not creepy way, kidfic depending on the fandom.) Generally I'll give anything a try, though! Sometimes it just takes me longer to get to certain tropes and fics because I'm less compelled by their premises/summaries/etc. than others.

Why/how did you get your journal to function this way?I played with the CSS and other modules that came with the layout! I decided to format it this way because this journal isn't emphasized on the "new post every update" part but that updates will be continuous. This way it looks more static for new visitors, and doesn't have to be rifled through to get to the next rec.

Why do you format your recs this way?I decided on the arrangement of each rec in a way that I feel like would be the easiest for a reader to access (bolded titles with links, links to other parts if they are not linked directly from the first part, ratings and length below, premise/summary in the third line.) They are also arranged in the way that I feel like would be most convenient for me if I were to stumble upon this journal and wanted an easy way to read it. I would actually absolutely love to talk about each one of these fics individually and rave about how much I like them, but that's also a lot of energy (both physical and emotional) out of me to do all at once. Though, of course, I've compiled different types of rec lists on other sites where I do this, so if you find one of them, good on you ;)Alternatively, you are totally welcome to PM me about a fic in particular (whether your own or one you read and enjoyed) and I would absolutely love flailing at you through our inboxes :D

How can I stay updated?New updates to this journal will be remarked at reccings, a twitter account specifically for this journal. I also save nearly everything I read in my AO3 bookmarks & aroceu, which update real time; and if I like something that I've marked there enough, I'll add it here. (My bookmarks have more personal notes/reactions; everything here is depressingly impersonal, haha.) So feel free to follow me on Diigo or keep track of my AO3 reading adventure; sooner or later, something I've marked there will likely end up here, too.

Will you read/rec my fic?I won't rec out of request (it's up to me, after all), but I will certainly read anything recced to me! Send them my way through PM and I'll see how I like it :)